TfL putting handbrake on Car Clubs

A London Assembly report says that Transport for London (TfL) is preventing the growth of car clubs and putting the brakes on progress towards the Mayor’s sustainable transport targets.

Car Clubs can help Londoners to make necessary journeys by car if they do not own one, but TfL’s “patchwork approach” is stopping car clubs reaching their full potential.

The Transport Committee report – TfL’s Stalling Car Clubs – says TfL policies have left councils to create their own strategies, leading to inconsistent provision across the capital and causing some operators to pull out of London.

Recommendations in the report are:

• In the next London Plan the Mayor should recognise the important part that car clubs can and should play in London’s transport mix
• Within the next year the Mayor should, through TfL and working with London’s boroughs, develop a pan-London action plan for car clubs
• TfL should develop a London-wide campaign to raise awareness of car clubs, informing Londoners of what car clubs are, how they can access them, and the benefits that they provide.

Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, Elly Baker AM, said:

“The benefits of car clubs are obvious – allowing Londoners to use a car when needed, without the ongoing costs of owning a private vehicle, and delivering a positive impact on street space and congestion.

“Yet TfL’s approach is overlooking these benefits, and not providing the support that the industry needs to grow.

“A TfL action plan to support car clubs is needed to fix spotty provision, increase awareness, and help take off the handbrake on car clubs in London.”